Top News:
Washington Post:
Sean Hannity's on-air angst reflects the tumult inside Fox News, as it faces a dip in January ratings and renewed scrutiny from the Murdoch family — Since Donald Trump's election loss in November, Sean Hannity seems to have been working through a process, live and on camera …
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Beast, TVNewser, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, @mlcalderone, @kbandersen, @drdenagrayson, CNN, @dabeard, @thetowncrier, @riegerreport, @ericboehlert, @joshuahol, @chrispolpsych and @jeremylittau
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify reports Q4 results: 345M MAUs, up 27% YoY, as paying subscribers grew to 155M, up 24% YoY, topping expectations; revenue was up 17% YoY to €2.17B — But streaming giant offers conservative outlook for the current year as new sign-ups could ebb
Discussion:
Spotify, @paul__armstrong, 9to5Mac, Spotify, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @dylanbyers, The Verge, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn, more at Techmeme »
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify says it had 2.2M podcasts in Q4, up from 1.9M in Q3, 25% of total MAUs engaged with podcast content, and podcast consumption nearly doubled YoY in Q4 — Spotify packed in a strong end to the year roiled by the pandemic, topping forecasts for Premium subscribers to reach 155 million …
Discussion:
Axios, Music Business Worldwide, Bloomberg, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @xpangler and Podcast Business Journal
Brent Lang / Variety:
Streaming services dominated nominations for the 78th Golden Globes: Netflix got a record 42 nominations across film and TV and Amazon Studios got 10 — Streaming services dominated nominations for the 78th Golden Globe Awards, signaling a power shift in Hollywood from traditional movie studios and TV broadcasters to digital upstarts.
J. Clara Chan / The Wrap:
Gizmodo senior editor Alex Cranz says she was fired for involvement in a union letter and for false claims about performance; Gizmodo calls her claims meritless — Gizmodo's senior consumer tech editor, Alex Cranz, said she was fired from the company last Friday for her involvement …
Discussion:
@alexhcranz, @kellybourdet, @themadstone, @bcmerchant, @jetscott, @alexhcranz, @cecianasta, @jasonschreier, @xoxogossipgita, @lisaeadicicco, @charlespulliam, @briannawu, @film_girl, @joemfbrown, @k_trendacosta, @samrutherford, @whitsongordon, @paleofuture, @annamerlan, @davegershgorn, @halophoenix, @krichbutler, @bombur, @katiecollins, @xoxogossipgita, @vicmsong, @chrisvelazco, @itsdavidford, @harrisonweber, @vksmith, @jlnwrites, @outonalumb, @ballaban, @yessfun and @jasonschreier
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
Current and ex-employees at CBS' flagship station, WCBS NY, allege they worked in a hostile environment, after allegations at CBS' Philadelphia station — ViacomCBS is confronting a widening crisis over allegations of mistreatment in its TV stations group.
Discussion:
@megjameslat, @kerrymflynn and @megjameslat
Chase DiFeliciantonio / San Francisco Chronicle:
Hearst releases its first US diversity and inclusion report, says 78% of employees who were managers or above, and 73% of its US employees were white — Hearst, the owner of The Chronicle, released its first U.S. diversity and inclusion report on Tuesday. — CEO Steven Swartz …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab and @niemanlab
Hannah Ellis-Petersen / The Guardian:
Nine journalists in India who published or tweeted about stories that say police shot a protesting farmer have had criminal cases filed against them — At least nine senior Indian journalists are facing criminal charges for reporting allegations that Delhi police fatally shot a farmer …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Scroll.in, @hvsbanwait, @gsjohal85, @mg2411, @monica_gill1, @kisanektamarch, @jayshreebajoria, @hrw, @ranaayyub, @pbhushan1, @penamerica, Baaz, @hannahep, @amankayamhai_et, @supriyashrinate, @delhipolice, Human Rights Watch, DW.COM, Al Jazeera, The India Cable and newslaundry.com
Elaine Low / Variety:
YouTube reports $6.89B in Q4 ad revenue, up 46% YoY from $4.7B, as it more than doubled the number of advertisers on YouTube through its TrueView ad format — Google parent Alphabet handily topped fourth-quarter forecasts, with Google Search and YouTube driving up total revenue for the internet giant.
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Joe Budden launches Joe Budden Network on Patreon, five months after leaving Spotify; Budden will become Patreon's head of creator equity — The podcaster will also work with the company as head of creator equity. — Five months after walking away from his exclusive podcast deal with Spotify …
Discussion:
The Verge, Billboard, Variety and Music Business Worldwide
Reuters:
Microsoft says it supports Australia's proposed new laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news content and it would be “willing to live by these rules” — (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it fully supported proposed new laws in Australia that would force internet giants Google …
Discussion:
CNBC, Financial Times and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
BBC fined £28K for contempt of court after breaching century-old law prohibiting filming inside court rooms by airing a six-second clip from a virtual hearing — The BBC has been fined £28,000 for contempt of court after “a catalogue of serious errors” resulted in the recording …
Discussion:
@domponsford and @shoaibmkhan
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